Meghaduta, Meghadūta, Megha-duta: 6 definitions

Introduction

Meghaduta means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.

In Hinduism

Kavya (poetry)

Meghadūta (मेघदूत literally "cloud messenger") is a lyric poem written by Kālidāsa, considered to be one of the greatest Sanskrit poets. A short poem of 111 stanzas, it is one of Kālidāsa’s most famous works ever. The work is divided into two parts, Purvamegh and Uttaramegh. It recounts how a yakṣa, a subject of King Kubera (the god of wealth), after being exiled for a year to Central India for neglecting his duties, convinces a passing cloud to take a message to his wife at Alaka on Mount Kailāsa in the Himālaya mountains. The yakṣa accomplishes this by describing the many beautiful sights the cloud will see on its northward course to the city of Alakā, where his wife awaits his return.

context information

Kavya (काव्य, kavya) refers to Sanskrit poetry, a popular ancient Indian tradition of literature. There have been many Sanskrit poets over the ages, hailing from ancient India and beyond. This topic includes mahakavya, or ‘epic poetry’ and natya, or ‘dramatic poetry’.

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Meghadūta (मेघदूत):—[=megha-dūta] [from megha] m. ‘cl°-messenger’, Name of a celebrated poem by Kāli-dāsa

context information

Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family. Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.

Discover the meaning of meghaduta in the context of Sanskrit from relevant books on Exotic India

Relevant text

Search found 11 books and stories containing Meghaduta, Meghadūta, Megha-duta, Megha-dūta; (plurals include: Meghadutas, Meghadūtas, dutas, dūtas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles: